NEWS

Petco Park to host U.S. vs. Great Britain Davis Cup First Round

Petco Park is home of Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres. And now, for three days next February, it will also be home to the U.S. Davis Cup team.

San Diego’s Petco Park has been selected as the site for the 2014 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas First Round tie between the U.S. and Great Britain, to be held Jan. 31, through Feb. 2. The best-of-five match series will be played on a temporary clay-court stadium to be built in left field.

The tie will mark the first time Davis Cup will be played in an open air baseball stadium in the U.S. and the first time the U.S. Davis Cup team has hosted a tie on clay since the 1992 semifinals, when the U.S. defeated Sweden in Minneapolis.

The players for each team will be named no later than 10 days prior to the start of competition. For the U.S., Captain Jim Courier has named John Isner, Sam Querrey and the world No. 1 doubles squad of Bob and Mike Bryan to his team for the last three ties. 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is expected to compete for Great Britain.

“Our squad is ready to go up against a tough adversary in the British squad,” said Courier. “Andy Murray is one of the strongest players in the sport, and we expect our home crowd to come out and support us in what will be a thrilling Davis Cup tie.”

“We are proud to bring Davis Cup to San Diego and tennis to Petco Park,” added Padres President & CEO Mike Dee. “This ballpark was built on the promise of being a multi-use venue that would bring year-round events to San Diego. We look forward to seeing the transformation of left field into a state-of-the-art clay-court tennis venue.”

The United States-Great Britain rivalry is the oldest in Davis Cup history, dating back to the first competition in 1900, when the U.S. defeated Great Britain in Boston. The U.S. holds an 11-7 advantage overall and has won the past four ties.

The two nations last faced off in the 1999 World Group first round in England, a 3-2 U.S. victory secured when Courier rallied in the fifth-and-decisive match to defeat Greg Rusedski, 8-6 in the fifth set. Courier also won a five-set match on the opening day of that tie, defeating Tim Henman in 4 hours, 12 minutes. The 1999 tie was the only meeting between the two nations under the current World Group format.

This will be the third consecutive home tie for the U.S. Davis Cup team, which is looking to win its first Davis Cup crown since 2007 and a record 33rd overall in its history. The U.S. defeated Brazil in Jacksonville, Fla., in the 2013 first round before falling to Serbia in Boise, Idaho, in the quarterfinals. Overall, the U.S. is 110-17 in ties played at home.

Tickets for this tie will go on sale to the general public on December 6 with a USTA Member pre-sale beginning Dec. 4.